Immunology
Investigators in MaPS study immunity in the setting of infection and other diseases.
A major area of emphasis in our department is innate and adaptive immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis in humans. The Sassetti lab focuses on the interaction between the bacilli and its host cell—the macrophage—to understand how the initial host-pathogen affects the outcome of infection. Using a combination of in vitro and in vivo models to leverage the genetic diversity inherent in both the bacilli and mammalian host cells, our researchers are identifying immune and metabolic factors that restrict M. tuberculosis replication. The Behar lab is interested in how T cells, in all their glorious diversity, interact with macrophages to inhibit intracellular bacterial growth, and how M. tuberculosis evades or subverts host immune responses. An important goal is to determine why robust T cell responses become dysfunctional and fail to control M. tuberculosis infection. A novel direction is to develop interventions that target metabolic pathways as a strategy to preserve T cell function and improve the treatment of tuberculosis.
Another area of intensive study within our department is vaccines. The Morrison lab is interested in respiratory virus infections, primarily infections with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Researchers in this lab use their expertise in viral immunology to develop novel vaccine candidates for RSV. As part of these studies, they are characterizing immune responses in experimental animal models to vaccine candidates and to virus infections. Their focus is to protect two populations at high risk for RSV infection: infants and the elderly. Using a novel experimental design, they are exploring the transfer of vaccine-induced immunity to offspring of immunized mothers and the efficacy of immunization in elderly animals. The Behar lab is interested in defining how vaccines work to induce protective immunity against M. tuberculosis. This work includes identifying correlates of protection and developing better preclinical models for TB vaccines. One way this is being done is by exploring the use of novel vaccines in mouse models that reflect the diversity of outbred populations. They are also pursuing antigen-discovery projects to identify new targets for the next generation of TB vaccines.
B cell biology and antibodies are another area of research in MaPS. The Schrader lab studies the mechanism of antibody class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation. The research team studies the error-prone DNA repair pathways that lead to the DNA breaks and mutations necessary for these processes, but which can also lead to lymphoma. The Gerstein lab investigates B lymphocyte biology in the context of multiple sclerosis and B cell lymphoma. This lab is interested in the molecular mechanisms of these diseases as well as biomarkers in patient populations that have predictive power for disease progression and treatment
Finally, the Irazoqui lab is interested in highly conserved mechanisms of innate immunity. Their discovery platform uses nematodes to identify novel cellular mechanisms of resistance to bacterial infection, which are then explored in mammals.